For someone that is new to football, it would probably seem like a good idea to save the roster spot; however, it really only takes living through 1 big loss due to a botched snap to know that it's a bad idea.
I'd be slow to characterize someone as "new to football" on the simple basis that s/he disagrees with me on what is inherently not something that can be quantitatively analyzed... just because even in my most strongly held opinions, it seems more reasonable to stick with the substance rather than trying to propose and support some disparaging theory of "why" that other person disagrees.
But if one were to entertain such an analysis, let's think out loud about what elements would need to be studied... yes, on the one hand, the obvious number of botched snaps, then number of botched snaps in critical situations.... but on the other, to see the whole of the equation, what visible benefits did the team enjoy because they were able to keep some specific player they would not have otherwise kept... hell, even just getting anyone with insider knowledge to admit what player would have been cut, in itself, would represent some serious detective work perhaps under thumb screws.
So... point of that little exercise being.... if one were to pursue it, it's not enough to focus exclusively on "one big loss due to a botched snap"... and notably, even if it were, as I've asserted earlier, thousands of long snaps occur in college ball every weekend, and relatively few of those seem to end up making Sportscenter.
That is, there's a legit discussion to be held, "are we over-reacting here to the likelihood of disaster?" and then, "are we under-appreciating the fact... pretty much, cold hard fact... that most preseasons, we're wincing at not just one but a handful of guys not being able to make the final 53, perceiving it's not some far-off dream that this guy, that guy or the other guy is capable if given the chance to make a discernible contribution to the success of the team"... ?
